WEDF NXT: Arrival
WEDF NXT: Arrival was a virtual wrestling mega event produced by WEDF that took place on December 31st, 2015. It is the first major event for WEDF's developmental brand, NXT. It took place at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida. The main event was the final match in the featured NXT Championship tournament between Sami Zayn and Vin Taylor and it was for the NXT Championship. The undercard featured a tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championships, Malik Brown versus Tyler Breeze, and Adrian Neville versus Kevin Owens in a #1 Contender's Match. Background Production In February 2015, WEDF announced the inception of its newest developmental project, NXT. This would be the first time in five years that WEDF would open a developmental brand after the colossal failure that was the Developmental CAW Organization. NXT was scheduled to be produced by Duke Ammons and commentated by Michael Montgomery of RCW/HCW fame. Ammons announced a one-night 24-man tournament to crown the NXT Champion at an event called NXT Valentine's Day Massacre. However, these plans were scrapped following Ammons's decision to retire from WEDF. NXT was quietly dropped from WEDF programming as Frankie "Frank Dawg" Payne chose to focus on the main shows, Raw and Smackdown. Two months later, a woman named Autumn Penn successfully negotiated a deal with Payne to take over production for NXT. Penn immediately organized her plans with her close friend, John Blackrose, to prepare for its launch. Using his connections in the virtual wrestling circuit, Blackrose was successfully able to convince Brent Delivine to take a position as a producer & head trainer of the developmental brand. Penn, Blackrose, and Delivine assembled a roster of promising young talent that they believed could be beneficial to the entire virtual wrestling scene, not just WEDF. However, due to scheduling conflicts, Penn was unable to fully commit her time to NXT. Progress once again stalled out and again threatened to close down NXT before it could begin. In a desperate attempt to keep the brand alive, Blackrose would reach out to Joshua Bishop, who previously worked as the lead booker of WEDF's Monday Night Raw brand. Although Bishop initially had no interest in returning to a job in production, he was convinced when both Penn & Payne promised him full control over the creative direction of the brand. On May 4, 2015, Bishop officially announced the launch of NXT and confirmed that he would keep Autumn Penn as an advisor while acknowledging that Payne would have the final say on who gets called up to the main roster. One week later, NXT's first show would air, officially marking the beginning of the brand's existence. Show Description The journey to the NXT Championship started with eight of NXT's top stars and we are now down to two: the devious Vin Taylor & the resilient Sami Zayn. Already a controversial and dangerous adversary, Vin Taylor continued to carve a reputation as the most dangerous man on the scene with malicious assaults on Terry Atkins & Sami Zayn, most of which were carried out by his partner-in-crime, Mark Butcher. Known as The Violent Testament, it has become increasingly clear that dark days await should Vin Taylor be crowned NXT Champion. But if Vin wants to become the Champion, he must do it on his own - any involvement from Mark Butcher will not only disqualify Vin, but it will TERMINATE the Violent Testament! Standing in his path is Sami Zayn, a battle-tested competitor and career underdog. Zayn made a quantum leap by defeating his greatest rival and best friend, Kevin Owens, to secure his chance at destiny. He has made it clear that he wants to be known as the best wrestler in the world, but if the last NXT's events are taken into consideration -- where Vin Taylor orchestrated an all-out assault from The Shield toward his opponent -- Sami Zayn is not walking into this match in peak condition. Although that's never stopped Sami Zayn from shocking the world, tonight's test may very well be his greatest challenge. Zayn's superhuman fortitude will be put to the test against Vin's ruthless aggression and it's a match that could honestly go any man's way. Will this be the night where Sami Zayn proves he is for real? Or will The Charles Manson of Professional Wrestling claim another victim and tighten his deathgrip over NXT's future? Gage Grayson & Tyler King have already made quite a name for themselves in NXT. The Bladerunners came in as one of the hottest tag teams from the virtual wrestling circuit and they've lived up to the hype; some may argue they've even exceeded expectations! Their victory over International Airstrike was the definition of a "statement win" - not only did it end with the dissolution of the Airstrike, it has forced the WEDF Universe to take notice to a young tag team on the rise in WEDF's surging tag division. But one team is not willing to crown the arrogant duo yet. Sin Cara & Kalisto, known as The Lucha Dragons, have taken exception to the Bladerunners' smug attitudes and look poised to prove that the young duo have bitten off more than they can chew. With impressive victories over The Vaudevillains & The New Age Outlaws -- thanks to Sin Cara's veteran instincts & Kalisto's penchant for delivering in the clutch -- The Lucha Dragons have made it clear that they have claim to being the best tag team in NXT. The two teams have quickly stood out in the division and tonight, they will throw down to determine who will truly represent the division as NXT's best tag team. After being eliminated from the NXT Championship tournament, Tyler Breeze aired his complaints for the NXT Universe. Citing jet-lack and a migraine behind his loss to Terry Atkins, Tyler Breeze wrote off Atkins's hard fought win as a fluke then claimed to be on a mission to beautify the NXT Championship. This didn't sit well with Malik Brown, who called Breeze out with one simple request: Stop making excuses, be a man, and prove yourself as a competitor. The situation escalated when Breeze seemingly had a change of heart and challenged Malik...only for it to be another ploy to humiliate & mock Malik by having an impostor dressed in Malik's gear show up. Tensions continued to escalate until Commissioner Regal signed the match for Arrival. Both of these talented athletes have made one thing clear: They don't like each other and they want to beat the other man decisively, so that there will be no doubt who the better man is. The stage is set for a clash of ideals between a man who is hell bent on proving himself against the competition and a man who couldn't care less about his competition. Will Malik Brown finally shut Tyler Breeze up and continue to stand out as a rising star among the ranks? Or will Prince Pretty ring true on his promise to prove that Malik Brown is not on his level? Adrian Neville & Kevin Owens are two of the hottest names in the industry today for different reasons, but they share one thing in common: A will to be the NXT Champion. Though they are not in tonight's main event, they are determined to establish themselves as the challenger that will await the champion at NXT's next major event, TakeOver. The breathtaking daredevil clashes with the violent prizefighter to kick off our show in explosive fashion! Also tonight, we reveal a few more names freshly signed to the NXT roster, ALONG with the biggest signing to date! Who will this "game changing" talent be? Card *3 - Finn Balor made his debut post-match. *Other appearances on the show include the debut of Dante Styles & The Vaudevillains, who confronted William Regal about their lack of involvement in the NXT Tag Title match. NXT Championship Tournament Bracket Category:WEDF Category:CPVs